________________________ Spreading the Love of Reading One Book at a Time _______________________
This blog is for anyone whoever picked up a book and couldn't put it down. It's for anyone who loves to read and reads often. It's for anyone like me who's been seduced by a book and can't wait to discuss it.

The Reluctant Countess Blog Tour / Giveaway / Interview

Wendy Vella is a lover of all things romantic. She started reading her first Georgette Heyer book at a young age and instantly fell in love with the Regency era. Writing is something she has always found time for; she penned her first novel at eighteen though she says it will never make an appearance further than the closet in which it currently resides.

After having her two children Wendy then joined RWNZ and started honing her chosen craft by entering competitions with some success and attending conferences. Her Clendon and Readers Choice award-winning historical romance The Reluctant Countess will debut in Jan 2013 with Random House in their Loveswept line.

She has an addiction to reading and loves a wide range of genres while her first love will always be historical. She relishes novels steeped in Romance and excitement with feisty heroines and delicious heroes, especially when they are set amongst the treacherous waters of London society.

Wendy is a sucker for a happy ending having secured her own. She has been married to her own dark brooding hero for 28 years and shares her home with two wonderful children, two dogs and anyone else who happens to be visiting at the time. Born and raised in a rural area in the North Island of New Zealand, Wendy loves the beaches and lush green rolling hills of her homeland and is proud to call herself a very patriotic Kiwi!

Q & A

Lisarenee: Joining us today at Seduced by a Book is a talented new author, Wendy Vella. Thank you, Wendy for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions.

Wendy:Thanks so much Lisa for inviting me onto your wonderful site. It’s a very exciting time with my first novel, The Reluctant Countess, releasing 14th January 2013, a very busy time too!

Lisarenee: Even though I believe this to be the first book you've gotten published, you've been writing for years. What do you find to be the most difficult thing about writing a book? Is it adding in the little details of the story, is it keeping to the constraints set by the publisher, is it letting what you wrote go and seeing what everyone else thinks?

Wendy:Probably letting what I
wrote go and believing it’s good but you’re really not sure. Most
writers have had rejection, it just goes with the territory, but
sometimes when you’ve poured everything into a book and you let it
go it’s terrifying to think someone else may not love it as much as
you do.

Lisarenee:Has it sunk in
yet that you're a published writer? What has been the best part of
the experience so far? Congratulations, by the way.

Wendy:Thanks. Yes it has
sunk in because with the knowledge that you’ve become published
comes the pressure of writing another book as good, but that’s the
challenge I guess. The best part for me was telling my family who
have listened to me tapping on my keys for years
and seeing their reactions.

Lisarenee: Besides a good
chemistry between the two main characters, what do you feel is
important to writing a good romance? Is it humor, drama, or something
else entirely?

Wendy: For me it’s humor
and snappy dialogue. I like my hero and heroine to have a bit of
angst between them and I like to make sure
things don’t always run smoothly for them. I think that makes their
eventual capitulation all the sweeter.

Lisarenee:If you could
travel back in time and witness one historic event and take one itemback to the present, where would you
go and what would you bring back?

Wendy: I’d
probably head for that meadow at Runnymede
in Egham, Surrey, South England on the 15th
June 1215 to watch King John sign the Magna Carta and I would bring a
few short-cross pennies back as this was the currency of the time.

Lisarenee: What do you feel is one
of the most romantic things one person can do for another?

Wendy: I’m
not actually big on huge romantic gestures
like some people, for me I believe the most romantic thing is to know
you’re that one special person in your loved one’s life. I’ve
been married for 29 years and I know my husband always puts my
comfort and wellbeing before his and that if I’m cold and didn’t
bring a jumper then I get to have his! I think knowing they’d go
the extra mile for you is pretty romantic.

Lisarenee: What inspired you
to write The Reluctant Countess?
What was the spark that ignited your imagination?

Wendy: I was going to enter a competition and
the entry conditions were that you wrote the beginning about an Earl,
a mysterious Countess and a ballroom scene and The Reluctant Countess
came from that. I’ve never started a book this way but it was fun
and although I never entered the competition the book worked out
well.

Lisarenee: Is The Reluctant
Countess the first of a series? If not, do you have anything in the
works we can look forward to reading?

Wendy: No The Reluctant
Countess is a one off, but I have a few things on the go at the
moment which hopefully will make their way onto your shelves in the
not to distant future. I’m also having a
go at a contemporary which is fun.Lisarenee: Thanks again, Wendy for joining us today. I enjoyed reading The Reluctant Countess and look forward to reading more of your books in the future.

Synopsis:
From rising romance star Wendy Vella comes a Cinderella story of whirlwind passion between a dashing earl and a beautiful countess—and the secret that threatens to tear them apart.

Regal, poised, and elegant, Sophie, Countess of Monmouth, is everything that a highborn lady should be. But Sophie is hiding a past that is far from royal. When Patrick, Earl of Coulter, realizes that her story doesn’t add up, he resolves to find out the truth of what Sophie and her sister-in-law are concealing. Although Sophie has every reason to avoid him, the handsome and charismatic Patrick awakens something wicked deep within her soul . . . a powerful need that Sophie must stifle in order to protect her place in society.

Despite Sophie’s humble background, the raven-haired beauty has won Patrick’s heart. But what Sophie needs now is an ally. Viscount Myles Dumbly, the disgruntled former heir of Monmouth, is determined to expose Sophie as a fraud to recapture his lost inheritance. Soon Patrick is drawn into a fight for both their lives. Somehow he must find a way not only to rescue Sophie from poverty once and for all, but to keep her in his arms forever.

You can purchase The Reluctant Countess from Random House at the following link: https://www.randomhouse.com/book/221633/the-reluctant-countess-by-wendy-vella

Rules of Eligibility:
Only residents of the US who are 18 or older are eligible.

Please leave your email address so I may get in contact with you to get your mailing address. **No P.O. Boxes, please**. Books will be sent directly from the publisher.

Become a follower of my blog, if you aren't already. (Required)

Winners will be randomly chosen. Giveaway ends January 11th, midnight eastern time. Only one book or Net Galley preview per person and per address. Winners will be posted on my blog and notified by email or message posted to them via Goodreads. Winners will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. Good Luck!

7 comments:

Like you I would go back to a medieval period also but I would go back to October 14, 1066 to watch the Battle of Hastings. I would try my best to bring back a sword. I own several but to own the real deal would be beyond my dreams.

I'm looking forward to The Reluctant Countess! Thank you for the chance in the giveaway. :)

The most romantic gift I ever received was a surprise visit from Sean one Christmas when he was in the military stationed in Germany. He told me he would be out on maneuvers and I knew I wouldn't hear from him for a few days then I got a call from him asking me to pick him up from the airport. That was THE best surprise!

When I was dating my husband he was away in college he would send me cards he made himself. Beautiful drawings and poems inside each card telling me how much he missed me and loved me. I still have them!! That was 20 years ago and we are still together :)

Congrats on your debut! And it is wonderful that you have your family to support you. Always fun to hear of a writing hobby becoming a real dream come true.

The most romantic thing my husband ever gave me was a ring with each of our children's birthstones in it. He searched for months until he found one he liked. (he never picks out jewlery) It meant a lot.

I'm looking forward to reading The Reluctant Countess.Congrats o the release. The Romantic gift my husband had given me was the night he had my mom come over to babysit and took me to dinner and had rented a room he filled with roses and petals and champagne. You see we had 7 kids and it was the night of a lifetime. :)Carol LucianoLucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

Congrats to Wendy on the new relese! Thanks for sharing! Ummm... it's not very romantic but it's the best gift I've ever been given cuz I love him so much.. but my boyfriend gave me a puppy (at the time) when we first got together. He was banking on our longevity and it worked ;) Sammie is now 3.